Second Chance
by Emerald-Shadow-Knight
Summary: How sad it is that one can mend the bond between towns, but is unable to salvage their own relationships... ToTT, a few years into the future, give or take.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon belongs to...whoever owns Harvest Moon.

* * *

The carriage ride there was quiet. They had been going all day, and a good portion of the night. The near-silence was practically unbearable.

Phillip stuck his head out of the window, and tried to call out to the driver. In trying to say something, he ended up getting smacked in the face with what he hoped was a tree branch. Sputtering and spitting out any leaves, he tried again.

"How close are we?" The driver looked over at his passenger, then shrugged.

"We're almost there. Konohana was the place you said, right?" He then scoffed. "Even if it weren't, that's where we're headed."

Phillip then drew his head back into the carriage, to avoid hitting another branch. He looked over at the luggage bag he hurriedly packed before he left. He remembered her telling him in the letter that he was only to take what he needed. In his mind, that was nothing but clothes.

Before he mulled over what exactly brought him to this town, he felt the carriage stop.

"You're in luck, it looks like!" The driver said. "The lights at her house are on. Of course, her sleeping schedule has always been weird, so..." Phillip took hold of his luggage, got out of the carriage, and paid the driver.

When he was alone, Phillip stood in awe at the house. He'd assumed a farm house was a tiny shack, not something this gorgeous and huge. The presumed crop field and barn were equally formidable.

After standing for a few moments, Phillip forced himself to move. Each step he took brought him closer to his new life. He kept his head down, focusing mostly on his feet.

From the beginning, Phillip knew full well he was taking a giant leap of faith. He had traded in a familiar life for one that only guaranteed hard work. He'd never even heard of the town or the farm until she'd told him.

Then came the scandalous rumors. Phillip had heard the story that he'd taken on some kind of mail-order spouse situation. The truth was that he'd simply taken on the chance to be a farmer's assistant. He knew she was a few years older, and he didn't mind it. He wasn't really into older women like that, anyway.

The sound of a cow mooing caught him off guard. He stopped, about halfway to the house. Waiting for any other noises, Phillip began walking again. He gripped his suitcase tighter.

For a while after that, all he could hear was his own breathing. A small part of him was begging him to reconsider this life. If it were any other time in his life, he would indeed have turned tail and ran.

Instead, Phillip reminded himself that there was no turning back now. He bit his lip, wondering when the last time he ate was. He wondered it as he finally reached the front door.

Forcing himself to lift his arm, Phillip knocked once, then twice. He waited for a moment or two, to give her time to answer.

Then, the door opened.

* * *

Since I've not written a Harvest Moon fanfic before, I have next to no idea how this is going to pan out.

-Emerald-Shadow-Knight


	2. Chapter 1

I will admit, the first chapter was a tad short. It was meant to be the prologue, though, and I tend to write those a little too short.

Disclaimer: I have some of the games, but I don't own the Harvest Moon franchise.

* * *

The woman who stared down at Phillip now had an intimidating air about her. Her posture was as rigid as her expressionless face. The clothes she wore had long-faded floral patterns. In one of her hands, she held a small box.

"Um...Do I have the right farm? You're Lillian, right?"

"Depends on who's asking." She pulled out a small white and orange stick from her box, and put it in her mouth. "The guy running the horse farm didn't send you, did he?" She pulled out a lighter from her dress pocket, and lit the stick.

"No, he didn't. I'm Phillip. I'm the one who sent a letter?" Phillip didn't even know there was a horse farm. From what he heard of Konohana, it was more of a crop-growing town.

"Oh. Well, then..." Lillian then stepped back and let him enter the house. "If I'd have known you were going to be here this early, I'd have set up a bed for you sooner." She shrugged. "Whatever. I'll do that now."

She stopped to rub her eyes. Phillip could only wonder if he'd woken her up. He watched her as she pulled out a blanket from a nearby closet, and threw it over a makeshift bed in the corner.

"Is there anything I should know about living here?" Lillian stopped her task and looked up at him. The slight wrinkles in her facial features deepened.

"Yes. Get used to being on your feet."

...

Phillip didn't get much sleep after he went to bed. The blanket he had smelled slightly of tobacco smoke. The bed itself wasn't very comfortable, and made an awful creaking sound each time he adjusted.

He estimated he got about five hours of sleep when he heard Lillian grumble.

"You still asleep? If this is how you intend to spend your first day, I may as well just send you back this instant."

Hearing that got Phillip to jump up, eyes wide. "I'm up, I'm up!" He stared at her sitting at the table, chewing on something. He then forced himself out of bed, and took his place at the table.

"Um...Is that breakfast?" Lillian nodded. A slice of buttered toast and bowl of corn flakes sat in front of him, accompanied by a glass of apple juice. "Doesn't look like a whole lot."

Lillian then scoffed, standing up from the table. "That's all you need. No sense in bloating yourself up with sugar and that other junk. Now get eating. I want you out in the fields as soon as you're done."

When Phillip took hold of his spoon, he slowly began eating his cereal, watching as she grabbed a scarf and tied it around her head. She was then out the door and disappeared into the nearest field.

...

A gentle breeze was blowing through the crops. Phillip felt it rustle his hair, as he made his way to where Lillian was standing. He could smell tobacco wafting through the air as he got closer. He finished the last few bites of his toast and called out to her.

Lillian turned around, a lit cigarette in one hand. Next to her were two large baskets and a sickle. She stared at him as he took his place in front of her, before she bent down and took hold of one of the baskets.

"You eat too slowly," she muttered as she handed the basket to him. "I want you to go and harvest the potatoes. There aren't too incredibly many, so that shouldn't be a problem for someone of your experience. After you're done with them, get started on the turnips."

"What are you going to do?" Lillian took a drag on her cigarette, then threw it to the ground and stomped on it. She then picked up the other basket and the sickle.

"I'm working on the wheat fields. I'd have you do that, as well, but I have a certain method to getting the wheat cut. I don't have time to teach it to you right now."

The older woman took about five steps before stopping and looking back over at him. "When we're done here, we'll get started on the animals." She then continued toward the wheat field, once again disappearing into it.

...

Phillip never realized how dirty digging up potatoes was. He was thankful when the last one was dug up, and he could get started on the turnips. However, they too presented a challenge in being harvested.

He was almost done, but Phillip was covered in dirt. The offending substance was caked upon his cheeks as he put yet another turnip into his basket.

"Not familiar with plants, are you?" The young man looked up to see Lillian standing there, holding her basket filled with golden wheat.

Phillip shook his head. "No...Not really. Never really was my forte." He checked to see if he'd gotten all the turnips, then got to his feet. "But that doesn't mean I can't learn. Where do you want me to put this?"

"I'll take it. Now get to the barn and get started on the animals. Everything you need should be next to the door."

...

The words 'cow' and 'scary' didn't often show up in the same sentence. But the behemoth Phillip was currently staring at could barely qualify as a cow.

"She wants me to brush and milk _you_? Oh, boy..." Grabbing a brush, Phillip gingerly walked up to the side of the cow and began brushing. The cow itself seemed not to notice him, instead chewing on fodder. On the other side of the food bin, a white alpaca dozed quietly. A couple of chickens clucked in the back.

Phillip pinched his nose as he worked. "I don't know what she's feeding you, but I think she might need to switch it out for something else." The cow did not react.

As soon as he got it brushed to near-perfection, Phillip started with the milking. He tried to do so from the left side, but all that did was earn him a swift and sudden kick to the stomach.

He felt the wind practically knocked out of him as he fell to the ground. He waited until the pain mostly subsided before getting up again.

"Right, okay. So you don't like being milked on that side. I'll, uh...I'll come back to you later..."

"Lefty, huh?" Phillip looked over to see Lillian standing in the barn doorway. "Should've known." She grabbed the milker from him and sat down on the cow's right side.

"How'd you know?" His dexterity wasn't exactly a well-kept secret.

"I just know these things. Now go check to see if the chickens laid any eggs." She waved him off, leaving him to work on his latest task.

...

"So now what do we do?" Phillip eyed the baskets full of the fruits of their labor. Lillian carried them into the back of a cart. "Don't we need a horse to carry that?"

Lillian scoffed. "No, we don't. It's not as heavy as you think, trust me." She dusted her hands off and stared at him. "And a word of advice? Don't talk about horses with me. Damn things aren't worth the trouble of upkeep."

Phillip bit his lip, wondering why she was so bitter about horses. He'd always thought they were majestic creatures. He wasn't wanting to risk losing his job by defying her, though.

Trying to lift the front of the cart, Phillip could've sworn he felt something snap. His eyes widened as he fell to the ground. Lillian sighed and shook her head as she helped him up.

"You really need to work on that upper-body strength." She then lifted the cart front up, and had him take hold of it himself. The younger man was amazed at how strong she really was. "Now hurry up and get this to the shipping bin before it gets late."

Before he could ask if she could help him get there, she went back into the house.

...

Phillip grunted with more effort than he ever thought possible. Though there were only a few baskets in the cart, all of it was enough to weigh him down considerably.

After at least an hour or two, he had only just reached what looked like the entrance to town. Thankful for getting this far, he collapsed and sat down to rest.

"Wait..." Phillip was just now realizing that he needed help picking the cart up. Now knowing he couldn't go back and get Lillian, he slapped a hand to his face and sighed. "Oh, I'm so stupid..."

"Hey, there!" An unfamiliar voice rang out, causing him to jump in surprise. He saw a figure on horseback looking down at him. "Need some help?"

* * *

I also try not to do cliffhangers, but those tend to happen, as well.

-Emerald-Shadow-Knight


End file.
